Harry A. Longabaugh (p.5)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid may have returned to action on February 14, 1905. On that date three men robbed the Banco de Londres y Tarapaca in Rio Gallegos, Argentina. It is a matter of some contention whether the perpetrators of this robber were in fact Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The third “man” in the robbery is believed to have been Etta Place.

In May of 1905, the outlaws made preparations to sell the Cholila ranch. A month later, on June 30, 1905, Sundance wrote a neighbor in Cholila stating they were leaving Valparaiso, Chile for San Francisco, California. It is unknown if he actually made the trip, or if it was just a cover.

In December 1905 the Banco de la Nacion in Villa Mercedes, Argentina was robbed. Newspapers reported the robbers were the same ones who robbed the Rio Gallegos bank. Again Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were suspected. Harvey Logan was mentioned as a possible suspect as well, despite his death a year earlier.

Sometime during this period, Etta Place left the outlaws in South America and returned to the United States. It is unknown what became of her after that.

By 1907, the outlaw duo found themselves working at the Concordia Tin Mines in Tres Cruces, Bolivia. Cassidy struck up a friendship with Percy Siebert, a fellow employee who would go on to manage the mine. Sundance remained reserved. Soon the other miners began to whisper about the outlaws’ past and it became apparent it was time to leave.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are believed to be responsible for a pair of train robberies in Eucalyptus, Bolivia in May and August 1905. No concrete evidence connects the outlaws to the robberies, but they remain suspects.

On November 4, 1908, two men, believed to be Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, robbed the Aramayo Mining Company payroll. After stealing the payroll, the outlaws stole one of the courier’s mules for good measure. For a pair of experienced outlaws such as Butch and Sundance, this would appear to be an incredibly illogical move. The mule was branded with the Aramayo’s mark, making it very easy to spot.

Two days later, the Aramayo payroll robbers were confronted in San Vicente, Bolivia. After a brief shootout, the two bandits were found dead the following morning. It is commonly believed that Butch and Sundance were the robbers in question and met their fate in San Vicente. On the other hand, despite much research, there has yet to be any concrete evidence unearthed to prove the outlaws died in the Bolivian mining town.

While Butch Cassidy sightings are fairly common following the San Vicente shootout; the Sundance Kid comes in a distant second place. However a couple stories do stand out among the pack.

Years after the shootout a man named Hiram BeBee showed up in Utah claiming to be the Sundance Kid. Due to the lack of physical similarities between the two men, including a six-inch height difference, BeBee has been written off by most as a fake.

In her book, Butch Cassidy, My Brother, Lula Parker Betenson writes Cassidy told his family that following the San Vicente shootout, he ventured into Mexico he discovered the Sundance Kid and Etta Place living in Mexico City. Matt Warner’s daughter, Joyce, tells of another meeting with Cassidy. Cassidy told her that Sundance had found a new partner who he named Butch as a joke.

In the 1970’s a man going by the name Harry Longabaugh Jr. made his presence known through a series of lectures he gave on what he claimed was his famous outlaw father. Longabaugh Jr. believed Sundance survived the San Vicente shootout, but provided multiple dates and locations for his “true” death, causing many to believe he was a fraud.

Sundance biographer Donna Ernst, believes there may be a family connection. She points out that Harvey is a Longabaugh family name, and Longabaugh’s features bear a strong resemblance to those within the Longabaugh family. As to whether he is the actual son of the Sundance Kid, she is not so sure, but Ernst feels he may be related to the Longabaugh family in some other way.